Thread guide and support therefor



y 2, 1940- c. H. WAINWRIGHT ET AL 2, 2

THREADGUIDE AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed Nov. 26, 19:8

Patented July 2, 1940 wel I UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE;

t 2,206,215 THREAD GUIDE AND urmmmmsma Carlyle Herbert Wainwright, Tom Leslie Mountain, and Frederick Edward Deans, Leicester, England, assignors to The Bentley Engineering Company Limited, Leicester, England, a British company i Application November 26, 1938, Serial No. 242,609 In Great Britain December 9, 1937 4 Claims.

U plicable for use in connection with knitting machines, but which are also applicable for use port for a pot-eye in a plane containing the axis of the aperture through which the pot-eye is to be inserted, and is a sectionon the line l-I of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

in other machines in which a thread or threads Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 is or are to be dealt with. looking in the direction of the arrows, and

The invention is particularly concerned with Figures 3 and 4 are views respectively similar thread-guides of a type commonly known by the to Figures 1 and 2 of a modified form of pot-eye.

, term pot eyes. A pot-eye is a short tube of Like references indicate like parts throughout porcelain or like material having a highly glazed the several figures of the drawing- :1 surface, and such eyes are usually fixed in posi Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a bracket Ill is tion in a supporting bracket by means of thermoformed with an aperture ll surrounding which i plastic material which becomes plastic at a temthe material of the bracket is formed into a numperature higher than ordinary temperatures. er o w d y Projecting radial fingers i2 It is usual for a pot-eye to be formed with a spaced from oneanother around the axis of the 15 main barrel portion which at one end continues aperture ll. Theinner ends l3 of these blades into an enlargement having a slightly flared normally extend to an imaginary circle which mouth the surrounding margin of which is of has a diameter slight y s t n the barrel D0 smooth or rounded form over which the thread i 0f he p ye M w in Figure is shown can be traversed without damage to the thread. O g d t e b c et W e e i can be Clearly 20 An object of the present invention is to provide i e n th t he diamete f he ba r is s y an improved means for fixing such pot-eyes in larger than the diameter of the imaginary circle. their brackets 1' sup ort to which the inner ends l3 of the blades extend.

According to the present inventionasupport for When the potis c d. n ert d into a pot-eye comprises a plurality of radial blades or the pe e II b v m to e right n 25 spring fingers which surround an aperture in the Figure e blades W spring slightly in e bracket into which the pot-eye is to be inserted direction in Which the D y is pu e s n and which extend t an imaginary ir 1 hi h, cated in dotted lines, the barrel portion of the has a diameter slightly less than that of the p -ey being s d cated in detted lines as barrel portion of the pot-eye. inserted within theembrace of thefingers of 30 Thus, when the pot-eye is inserted in the aperthe blades. The result is that although but little ture by pressure against the extremities of the force is eq d to insert the p s the blades blades or fingers from one sid of th aperture, press against the surface of the barrel in a directhe blades or fingers spring slightly in the direc- 131011 to P e Withdrawal o t e pot-eye since tion in which the pot-eye is pushed with the e barrel D O 0f the D y p e en s eturn 35 result that although but little force is required to f t e blades into theirlnormal position i s rt th pot-eye betw n th nd of th 1 1 19 In an alternative construction as illustrated in the blades resist withdrawal of the pot-eye from. Figures 3 and 4 SiX e are e p yed in p the aperture since the barrel portion of the pot- Place Of the 0 blades of Figures 1 and 40 eye prevents their return to their original posiand t e e ds o he blades are ben i t l y n 40 hon, i the general direction in which the pot-eye is in- Preferably, the ends of the blades are bent in s and t e blades are shown in Figure 3 the general direction in which the pot-eye is only in their initial position although the barrel inserted, that is to say, each blade extends first of the pot-eye is shown in dotted lines to indicate radially and then axially of the aperture which its relative diameter with respect to the exten- 45 receives the pot-eye. This formation of the sion of the inner ends l3 of the blades to the blades has been found convenient in cases where imaginary circle aforesaid. In other words, each the diameters of, the barrels of the pot-eyes are blade extends first radially and then axiallyof the. found to vary somewhat between different potaperture l I of the bracket l0.

eyes. This second construction is found to be pref- 50 In order that the invention may be more erable in the case inwhich the diameters of the. clearly understood two examples will now be barrels of the pot-eyes vary somewhat between described with the aid of the accompanying drawone pot-eye and another. ing, in which Weclaim:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation through a sup 1. A thread-handling device comprising in 55 combination a pot-eye comprising a barrel and an enlargement at one end thereof, and a support for the pot-eye which latter has an aperture surrounding the pot-eye and has aplurality of radial blades each of which first extends from the margin, of' the. aperture substantially radially towards the center thereof and nearits free end is bent overto extend axially of the aperture away from the enlargement of the pot-eye, the

ends of the blades terminating on the barrel of the pot-eye and gripping the same" resiliently.

2. A thread-handling device constructed in accordance with claim 1 andhaving thebladjes and at least that portion of the body of thesupport immediately surrounding the aperture formedin one from a single piece of material.

3. A thread-handling device constructed in accordance with claim 1' in which the blades extend from the margin of the aperture towards their free ends as smoothly curved members.

4. Brackets for supporting pot-eyes each comprising a fiat support of resilient metal having an aperture for reception of a-pot-eye ofdimensions substantially larger than the transverse dimensions of the pot-eyes, spring blades extending inwardly from the edges of the aperture, which blades are bent to extend also axially of the aperture and terminate at an imaginary circle of a diameter slightly smaller than a pot-eye so that on insertion of a pot-eye the blades will be sprung outwardly and'will grip the pot-eye resiliently.

CARLYLE HERBERT WAINWRIGI-IT.

TOM LESLIE MOUNTAIN.

FREDERICK EDXVARD DEANS. 

